Schools' Temporary Classrooms Are Here To Stay

July 1, 1985|By Ines Davis of The Sentinel Staff(Reporters Stephen Kindland and Carolyn Cox contributed to this story.)

Growth and money shortages are forcing Central Florida school districts to rely on portable classrooms as a permanent solution to crowded schools.

Faced with money shortages, staggering capital outlay needs and a dizzying increase in student enrollment, school districts are adding new portables as fast as they can.

But the use of portables puts many districts into a ''Catch-22'' situation. If a district has portables but wants new classrooms the state will not recommend new facilities, said Jim Lee, consultant with the Department of Education facilities department.

State surveys that affect the allocation of construction money are usually done every five years.

Osceola Board chairwoman Karen Kerr said if the district has plenty of classrooms -- even if they are portables -- the board would be hard-pressed to persuade taxpayers to pay higher taxes to build a new school.

Portables cost districts in the long run. They require more maintenance than permanent buildings and overburdening cafeterias, libraries and other facilities can create a whole new set of problems, said Wallace Scroves, a facilities specialist with the department.

Alternatives are less desirable than the portables, officials say. Double sessions, partitioning large multipurpose rooms for classrooms, larger classes and longer school days are headaches.

This summer, school officials in Orange, Brevard, Seminole, Osceola and Volusia counties are planning to build or buy nearly 200 portables. Some schools already have as many as 20 portables.

Student populations in Osceola, Volusia, and Seminole counties are expected to increase by at least 10 percent over the next five years, but state construction dollars, allocated each year by the Legislature, fall millions short of what districts need.

For 1985-86, Osceola will receive about $1.8 million for construction, Seminole will receive $556,773, Orange will get $4.1 million, Volusia will get $2.2 million and Brevard will get $2.6 million.

A new school costs from $8 million to $18 million.

Seminole County, expecting a 13.7 percent increase by 1990, needs five new elementary schools over the next five years, according to Arnold.

The district has 35 schools and 130 portable classrooms and is building 50 more this summer.

Osceola, facing a 36.7 percent growth rate over the next five years, is building a high school and needs an elementary and middle school. County officials estimate the state will provide only a third of the overall construction needs.

Osceola has 13 schools and 36 portables. It will buy 15 this summer and consider leasing 13 more.

Volusia County, which has been adding 800 students a year for the past four years, needs $105 million for construction in 1985-86, said Gerald Krumh, assistant superintendent.

Krumh said the district plans to build a 1,900-student high school for about $18 million -- entirely with local money.

Brevard County, expecting only 2 percent growth next year, has purchased 23 portables and has three new elementary schools and one junior high on the drawing board.

Orange County officials call their portables ''relocatables,'' because they are built to last but can be moved, said Thomas Ewart, associate superintendent.

Unlike some of the ''thin-skinned'' portables, Ewart said the district expects their facilities to last 40 years compared to the usual 20. The district is building 30 relocatables this summer.